Like many online brokers , both TD Ameritrade and TradeKing charge a flat fee for every trade. This can be an advantage for many traders because they will pay the same amount for every trade regardless of how much they invest in that asset. But this can be a double-edged sword, as these fees can add up quick.

There are some differences between the two companies, as you might have gathered from the title of this article. I would like to take a close look at some of them, but before I do I just want to say that both of them are great companies.

TradeKing

TradeKing is a fairly new company that recently merged with another online broker . They don’t have the advanced tools that some other companies might have (such as TD Ameritrade), but their fees are much lower.

Aside from that, it still has a great platform that can be good for someone who is just breaking into the market. The reason why I am saying this is because, while the research tools are not as comprehensive, they still provide a good amount of information. And they are easier to understand. For this reason, I would say they are geared more toward the new investor.

TradeKing has lower fees than many of its competitors, which is why it is such a good platform for someone who is just getting started. Chances are they won’t have a lot to start out with, so they will most likely be more concerned about fees. They charge $4.95 for every stock or ETF trade, and they charge $10 for any mutual fund trade. So, you can see that they offer a tremendous savings for the little guy. The downside, however, is that they will charge a $50 inactivity fee if your account balance falls below $2500.

TD Ameritrade

Compared to TradeKing, TD Ameritrade is more expensive, but if you look at what you’re getting it might be worth it. They have a lot of very comprehensive and advanced tools that can satisfy any experienced trader. Their charts and graphs (which they get from a third party source) have a plethora of information, and you can get it all in real time. In fact, their Thinkorswim desktop application has everything an experienced trader would need to keep up with the market. They use 34 different technical indicators to gather data, and they organize it in a way that is simple to understand.

If you like trading while you’re on the go, TD Ameritrade offers two mobile apps – the TD Ameritrade Mobile and the TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader . The first one is geared more toward the casual investor, as it doesn’t provide as much information as the TD Ameritrade Mobile Trader. It provides more advanced charts that are more suited towards the more active trader.

As I said before, TD Ameritrade is more expensive, but as you can see there is a lot of value in the higher price. They charge $9.95 for every trade you make, and mutual fund trades cost $49.99. It is considerably higher than TradeKing, but you might be willing to pay the extra money to get better investment tools.

Customer Service

I wanted to talk a little bit about the customer service of the two companies, as it can be a concern for many people. Not all online companies have great customer service (some have none at all), but that is not the case with TradeKing and TD Ameritrade. In fact, both companies are among the highest ranking online brokers in terms of quality customer service. This is a tremendous asset, especially if you need help with a problem (which we all know can happen from time to time).

Final Thoughts

While there are clear differences between them, both TradeKing and TD Ameritrade are great companies that have a lot to offer investors. While TradeKing doesn’t have the advanced tools of TD Ameritrade, their fees are much lower. But an avid trader might be willing to pay a little more so they can take advantage of all that TD Amertrade has to offer.